Screen and liner puller



June 24, 141. L. DAVIS SCREEN AND LINER FULLER Filed Oct. 5, 1940 2Sheets-Sheet l June 2%, 1941. L. DAVIS SCREEN AND LINER FULLER FiledOct. 3, 1940 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented June 24, 1941 SCREEN AND LINERFULLER,

Louis Davis, Corpus Christi, Tex., assignor oi onethird to Samuel J.Blythe, Sn, and one-third to Ray H. liostutler, both or Corpus(Jliristi,

Tex.

Application October 3, 1940, Serial No. 359,604

llll' Claims.

This invention relates to a novel device for pulling screens and linersfrom oil well casings,

- and more particularly to a device having means for readily raising ascreen and liner which is I upward pull. A screen and liner must bepulled because of sand which has entered the lower part of the casingthrough perforations therein clogging the screen and preventing passageof oil therethrough. The sand frequently packs around the screen sotight that it is very diflicult to start the initial upward movement ofthe liner and screen thereby putting an extreme strain on a derrickattempting to pull the liner and screen, frequently resulting in thederrick being pulled down.

It is an aim oi this invention to provide a screen and liner pullerwhich will operate on a different principle to produce the initialupward movement of the liner and screen by a turnbuckle action wherebyone section of the screen and liner puller will be raised relatively tothe other section by turning a drill stem to which the pulling tool isattached for thereby raising the screen and liner relatively to thecasing without applying a direct pull to the tool.

More particularly, it is an aim of the invention o provide a screen andliner pulling tool including sections connected by a rod or tube havinga ri ht hand threaded portion for engaging one of the sections and aleft hand threaded portion for engaging the other section, said rodbeing connected to mandrels associated with the sections and movablymounted relatively thereto for setting slips carried by the sections forclamping the upper tool section in the casing and the lower tool sectionin the liner and screen.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a pivotally mountedblade carried by the lower section for punching holes in the liner whensaid section is moved upwardly and downwardly within the liner forproviding apertures through which mud can be expelled into the casingbelow the upper end of the liner during the upward movement of the linerand screen.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter becomemore fully apparent from the following description of the drawings,which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view, partly in elevation,showing the tool in an engaged position in the casing and liner andscreen,

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the tool released,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the upperportion of the tool sh'own clamped to the casing,

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of the lowerportion of the tool shown clamped to the liner and screen,

Figures 5 and 6 are transverse sectional views taken substantially alongthe planes ofthe lines 5-5 and t-5, respectively, of Figure 3, and

Figure l is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along theFigure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate like or corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views, it designates generally the lower portion of aconventional oil well casing which is disposed within a well, not shown,and which is adapted to be cemented on its outer side thereto. The lowerend of the casing it is adapted to be embedded in the oil sand, notshown, of the oil well, and the embedded portion thereof is providedwith perforations, ii. The casing ill is provided with a conventionalvalve l2 in its lower end. A conventional liner and screen is designatedgenerally it and includes a screen it which is disposed at the lower endthereof and within the lower end of the casing it, a liner l5 which isattached at its lower end to the upper end of the screen it and a packerit, the lower end of which is in threaded engagement with the upper endof the liner it. The exterior diameter of the packer it is greater thanthe ex terior diameters of the screen and liner it and i5, respectively,and is substantially eqr al to the bore of the casing it! which it isadapted to snugly engage. The screen it and liner it, on the other hand,are disposed in spaced apart relationship to the inner wall of thecasing it, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The parts previouslydescribed are of conventional construction and are shown merely toillustrate the use of the screen and liner puller, designated generallyH, and comprising the invention.

The tool ll includes an upper tool section it and a lower tool sectionit, which is smaller in diameter than the tool section it, for a purposewhich will hereinafter become apparent.

Referring particularly to Figure 3, the tool section it which is adaptedto be disposed in the casing it, when in a lowered position, includesplane of the line l--l of a barrel 20 having an open upper end and aclosed lower end which is provided with a bore 2| extending therethroughand which is provided with a left handed thread. Barrel 2515 providedwith leaf springs 22 which are connected to the outer side thereof attheir lower ends by fastenings '23 and which extend longitudinally ofthe barrel 20. The intermediate portions of the springs 22 are bowedoutwardly for engaging the inner surface of the casing ill for holdingthe tool section l8 substantially in concentric relationship to thecasing Ill.

Adjacent its upper end, the barrel 29 is provided with circumferentiallyspaced longitudinal slots 24 through which project slips 25 which areprovided at their outer edges with downwardly directed teeth 26. Theslips 25 are provided with downwardly and inwardly inclined cam faces 21on their inner edges and with depending lugs 28 which are disposedwithin the barrel 20. A leafspring 29 is connected at its upper end toeach of the lugs 28 and extends downwardly and outwardly therefrom andis suitably attached at its lower end to the inner side of the barrel20. The leaf springs 29" normally urge the slips 25 inwardly of thebarrel 20 and out of engagement with the inner surface of the casingIII, as best seen inFigure 2.

A hollow mandrel 30 is provided with a conical tapered lower end 3| andan upper end provided with a restricted opening 32 in which is slidablydisposed a sleeve 33. The sleeve 33 is provided with spaced outwardlyprojecting collars 34 disposed one above and one beneath the upper endof the mandrel 30 for restricting the sliding movement of the sleeve 33relatively thereto. As best seen in Figure 3, the mandrel 3D is adaptedto be normally disposed in the upper end of thebarrel 20 and to bemovable relatively thereto so that on the downward movement of themandrel 30 relatively to the barrel 2!] its portion 3i will engage thecam faces 21 to project the slips 25. l

The sleeve 33 is provided with a restricted upper end provided with aright hand thread 35 for engaging the lower threaded end of a drill stem36. The sleeve 33 is provided with a bore which extends longitudinallytherethrough and which communicates with the passage of the drill stem35. The bore of the sleeve 33 includes an enlarged cylindrical portion3l, adjacent the lower end thereof, a restricted tapered portion 38therebeneath, having a left hand thread, and an elongated portion 39above the portion 31 which is square in cross section.

A hollow rod or tube, designated generally 40, is provided with a head41 at its upper end having an upper portion 42, which is square in crosssection, and a lower tapered portion 43 which is provided with a lefthand thread for engaging the threaded portion 38. The rod 40 adjacentits upper end is provided with a left hand threaded portion 44 whichengages the thread of the openin 2 I.

The lower tool section is, as best seen in Figure 4, includes a barrel45' which is substantially smaller in diam'eter than the barrel 20 andwhich is open at its upper end and provided with a tapered lower endhaving a right handed thread 46. The lower end of the barrel 45 is alsoprovided with a restricted tapered opening ll provided with a right handthread. Barrel :45 is provided with springs 22 corresponding to thesprings of the barrel 20 for holding the tool section I9 in spacedapart, concentric relationship to the inner wall of the liner and screenI3. The

barrel 45 is also provided with a set of slips 25' correspondingto theslips 25 except that the teeth thereof, designated 26', are directedupwardly and that the slips 25' are not provided with the cam faces 21.Slips 25' are supported and normally held in retracted positions bymeans of leaf springs 29' which are attached at their lower ends to theinner side of the barrel 45 and at their upper ends to the inner edgesof the slips 25'.

A tube 48 is disposed in the barrel 45 and is provided with a taperedlower end which is provided with an external right hand thread 49 forengaging the threaded portion 4! for holding the tube 48 in a lowered,retracted position. Tube 48 is provided intermediate of its ends withany enlarged portion forming a mandrel 50 which is square in crosssection and the sides of which taper toward the upper end of the tube48. The mandrel 59 is disposed below the slips 25 when the portions 41and 49 are in engagement so that the slips 25 will be held by theirsprings 29 in retracted positions, as seen in Figure 2. The upper end ofthe tube 48 is provided with an internal right hand thread 5| forengaging the externally right hand threaded lower end of an insert 52which is provided with a bore 53 extending longitudinally therethroughand which is provided with a right hand thread. The lower end of the rod40 is provided with a right hand threaded portion 54 for engaging thethreaded bore 53.

A sleeve 55 is provided with an internally threaded flared upper end 56which attached to the tapered threaded portion 66 for connecting thesleeve 55 to the lower end of the barrel 45. Sleeve 55 intermediate ofits ends, is provided with a frame 57, the longitudinal bar 58 of whichis pivotally connected at 59 to one end of a blade 56 which extendsoutwardly of the sleeve 55 through a longitudinal slot St. The blade 59is provided with teeth 62 on its outer, free end. A contractile coilspring 33 is attached at one end to the knife 69 and at its opposite endto the upper bar 6% of the frame 51 for urging the knife 59 upwardly. Acontractile coil spring 65 is connected to the knife 69- at one end andto the lower bar 54 at its opposite end for urging the knife 50downwardly. The springs 53 and 65 are so tensioned that the knife blade50 will normally assume an upwardly inclined position, as illustrated inFigure 4.

Assuming that the threaded portion 49 is in engagement with the threadedportion ll to hold the mandrel 55 in a retracted position, that thethreaded portion 43 is in engagement with the threaded portion 38 tohold the mandrel 30 in a retracted position, and that the sleeve 33 isconnected to the drill stem 35, the too-l H with the parts thuspositioned, as seen in Figure 2, can be lowered into the casing Ill, andthe slips 25 and 25' will be in retracted positions so that the tool Hcan be moved downwardly until the tool section I9 is in the liner andscreen l3. An upward pull on the drill stem, after .it has reached itsfully lowered position, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, will cause the knifeor blade 69 to assume the position, as seen in Figure 1, to punch a holein the liner l5 and a further upward pull will cause the knife 60 toassume its lowermost, dotted line position, of Figure 4. A downwardmovement on the drill stem 36 and tool I! will cause the knife 60 toreturn to its intermediate, dotted line position of Figure 4, to punchanother hole in the liner l5 and this operation can be repeated tighter.

to punch as many holes as desired in the liner II, for a pu pose whichwill hereinafter be described- 'After a suiilcient number or holes havebeen punched in the liner I! by the knife or blade II the drill stem isturned to the left to turn the sleeve 33, barrel I0, rod 40, insert 52,and tube 40, all to the left to unscrew the portion 49 from the portion41. This will be accomplished rather than the stem 36 being unscrewedfrom the sleeve 33 due to the fact that there is more weight on thisthreaded connection and also due to the fact that this threadedconnection can be made When the threaded portion 49 is detached from theportion 41 stem 38 and tool section i8 can be raised to raise the tube48 to cause the mandrel 50 to set the slips 25' in either the packer itor the liner I! to thereby secure the tool section 19 to the screen andliner IS. The stem 36 is then turned in the opposite directionor to theleft to unscrew the portion 38 of the sleeve 33 from the threadedportion it of the head 41. By then slacking off on the drill stem 36sleeve 33 will move downwardly to force the mandrel 3t downwardly toexpand and set the slips 2! in the casing ll). During these operationsthe portions M and 54 of the tubular rod on are in extended positionsrelatively to the barrel Mend the insert 52, respectively. As the sleevefit is moved downwardly to set the slips 25 the lower portion of thesquare bore portion 53 will move into engagement with the square portion32 of the head ti to key the sleeve iii? to the rod to. The drill stem36 is now turned to the right to cause the threaded portion M to moveinwardly of the barrel 2t and the threaded portion M to move inwardly oithe insert 52. The square cross sectional shape of the mandrel M willprevent the tube 48 from turning relatively of the barrel 45 during thisoperation. As the rod is drawn inwardly of both the tool sections and asthe tool section it is held against movement relatively to the casingill by the slips 25 and the tool section it is similarly held againstmovement relatively to the liner and screen it by the slips 25', theliner and screen it will be drawn upwardly relatively to the casing in.After this upward movement has been continued to the limit of the rod Mlstem at is pulled upwardly to raise the sleeve 33 and the mandrel it torelease the slips 25 and the upward pull is then continued to draw theliner and screen it out of the casinglll. Should the liner and screen itstill be stuck in the sand at the bottom of the casing ill so that itcannot be pulled by an upward movement, the drill stem 36 is turned in acounterclockwise direction to turn the rod m to the left to cause itsportions M and M to be screwed out of the portions 2i and 53 back totheir original, extended positions. During this movement the head ti issliding downwardly from adjacent the top of the portion it to theposition, as seen in Figure 3, and the tool section it is being raisedrelatively to the casing in. By again slacking oiT on the drill stemtilt the mandrel 30 can be lowered to reset the slips 25 after which thedrill stem at can be again turned to the right to repeat the operationof drawing the liner and screen ltupwardly. Assuming that the liner andscreen is now released from the sand in the bottom of the casing it, anupward pull on the stem 36 will release the mandrel 3D and the slips 25so that the screen and liner l3 may be pulled with the tool i! fromthecasing ill. As the liner and screen it moves upwardly its packer iswill swab the inner surface of the casing It so that the mud thereonwill flow down through and into the screen and liner l3. In order totake care of this mud, a cleaning fluid is discharged through the drillstem 36, through sleeve 33 and the bore of the rod 40, through the bore53 of the tube 48 into and through the bmrel 45 of the sleeve 55 fromwhere it screen l3 to flush the mud out through the openlngs formed bythe blade 60 and it is for this purpose that the blade is provided.

Should it be desired to remove the tool I! from the liner and casingthis can be accomplished by releasing the slips 25, as previouslydescribed, by an upward movement on the stem 36 after which the stem canbe turned to the left to screw the portion 43 into the portion-38 tolock the mandrel 30 in a retracted position. By then slacking off on thedrill stem 36 tool section it will move downwardly to force the tube 48downwardly, after which the stem 36 is turned to the right to connectthe portions l9 and 47 to lock the mandrel 50 in a retracted position sothat an upward pull on the drill stem 36 will withdraw the tool M fromthe casing ill and the liner and screen it.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously beresorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A screen and liner puller comprising a tool having an upper and alower section, slips carried by each of the sections, mandrels slidablymounted relatively to the sections for setting the slips of the lowersection in a liner and the slips of the upper section in a well casing,in which the liner is disposed, and means connecting said sections, saidmeans being tumable in one direction for drawing the sections toward oneanother for raising the lower section to raise the screen and linerrelatively to the casing.

2. A device as in claim 1, said means including a rod having a left handthread at one end and a right hand thread at the opposite end, said toolsections having threaded portions for receiving said threaded ends andfor adjustably connecting the tool sections.

3. A device as in claim 1, comprising resilientguide members disposed onthe outer sides of the sections for engaging the liner and casing forholding the sections in spaced apart, substantially concentricrelationship thereto.

4. A device as in claim 1, said means including a rod having a lefthand'threaded portion and a right hand threaded portion for engagingthreaded portions of the upper and lower tool sections, respectively, asleeve member attached to the lower end of a drill stem and swivellyconnected to the mandrel of the upper tool section, means on the roddisposed in the sleeve, and said sleeve being movable relatively to therod for causing the sleeve to be keyed to said means for turning the rodwhen the drill stem is revolved.

5. A screen and liner puller comprising a tool formed of upper and lowertool sections, slips carried by each of said sections, mandrels movablymounted in said sections for setting the slips, and means for connectingthe sections in spaced apart end to end relationship, said means beingrotatable for moving the sections toward one another.

6. A device as in claim 5, comprising a pivotally mounted blade carriedby the lower section for punching holes in the liner when said sectionis raised and lowered relatively thereto.

is discharged into the liner and 'I. A screen and liner pullercomprising a tool including upper and lower tool sections, a set ofslips mounted in each of said sections, a tubular member slldablymounted in the lower tool section, a mandrel carried by said tubularmember,

threaded means provided in the lower section and on the lower end of thetubular member for holding the mandrel in a retracted position, a rodhaving a left handed threaded portion forengaging a threaded portion ofthe upper tool section, and'a right handed threaded portion for engaginga portion of said tubular member, a sleeve connected to the lower end ofa drill stem, said rod havingia head on its upper end loosely disposedin the sleeve for keying the head to the sleeve when theparts aredisposed in certain positions, said head being slidably mountedrelatively to the sleeve, and a mandrel swivellyand siidably connectedto the sleeve for setting the slips of the upper tool section.

8. A tool as'in claim '7, said sleeve being provided with a bore havingan enlarged portion having a squared portion in one end thereof and athreaded portion at the opposite end thereof, and

said head having a. square end for engaging the squared portion and athreaded end for engaging the threaded portion of the sleeve.

9. A screen and liner puller comprising a tool having spaced'toolsections, slips carried by said sections, mandreis slldably mountedrelatively to the sections for setting the slips, spring guide membersdisposed on the outer sides of the sections for guiding the sections intheir movements relatively to the liner and screen, and a casing, andmeans connecting said sections in spaced apart end to end relationship,said means being rotatable for drawing the sections inwardly of oneanother.

10. A screen and liner puller comprising a tool formed of tool sections,members mounted in said sections to move inwardly and outwardlyrelativeiy to the sections for connecting one section to a casing andthe other section to a screen and liner, means for projecting themembers, and means connecting the sections and movable relativelythereto for moving the sections relative- LOUIS DAVIS.

